Vietnam’s businesses still skeptical about AI applications: RMIT

28/03/2020 | 14:00

Though artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have been making clear progress, Vietnam’s businesses remain skeptical about them.

According to lecturers from RMIT University, AI applications in Vietnam are still in the early development stage, so there is still time to draw up plans and get ready for breakthrough features of the technology and fully exploit the benefits AI can bring.

Describing AI as the technology which is ‘gradually changing the way we live and work’. Dr Dang Pham Thien Duy from RMIT Vietnam said in Vietnam most AI applications have been used mostly for implementation of specific tasks.

“AI still cannot reach the level of simulating human intelligence to create systematic intelligence and machines that can learn and improve the ability to perform complex tasks. That is the next big step,” Duy said.

In addition to a number of prominent AI applications in Vietnam today, such as intelligent traffic management system in HCM City, image recognition to support medical diagnosis, and automated processes in banks and other services, there are still many opportunities to take advantage of AI, thanks to the advancements of machine learning and big data technology.

AI can be used to segment customers by analyzing their outstanding features and online behavior. This technology can improve language analysis capability to support applications such as chatbot, translation, and handwriting recognition.

He said AI can be used to segment customers by analyzing their outstanding features and online behavior. This technology can improve language analysis capability to support applications such as chatbot, translation, and handwriting recognition.

And now, with better algorithms, AI can be used in automated robots like drones, unmanned vehicles, surgery assistant robots and chatbot software.

RMIT’s Dr Dinh Ngoc Minh added that though there has been significant progress in AI and machine learning, Vietnamese enterprises are skeptical about the application of the technologies.

“Vietnam’s institutions and businesses want 99 percent accuracy and reliability, but at present, very few sources can satisfy the requirements,” Minh said.

“Very few businesses have utilized AI. The others are still keeping a ‘wait and see’ attitude. They are waiting for other people’s achievements to learn from them, ” he said.

Minh believes that with the strong development of AI in the startup environment, where experiments are encouraged, the reluctance of the enterprises which are hesitating to apply the new technology may lift thanks to big data they can obtain from younger users.

As an example, he cited Sentifi, which is an an online tool using machine learning algorithms to exploit social media messages to understand financial markets.

“The significance and applicability of AI will be lower if there is no big volume of data. However, the fact that young people are increasingly using more smart devices and online services will provide huge sources of data,” he explained.